Outlook Backup .pst Files?

[Keebler Elf]

I know how to create a .pst file to backup Outlook emails but is there a way to add to an existing .pst file?

E.g., if I create PST file #1, then delete a bunch of emails (to make space), then later want to do a second PST backup which will include all of the original emails (i.e., including the ones deleted after creating PST #1), can this be done?

If you open the original PST file in Outlook and then do a backup with a second PST file, will everything be saved to the second PST file?

I'm trying to avoid creating a bunch of backup PST files from different backups which I'd then have to search individually to find an old email.

 

[happydog]

Don't mess around with PST files, Microsoft does strange things sometimes.
Maybe Archive prior to a specific date and label it.
or create a second profile.

 

[Celticman]

When I did this, I mapped both pst files in Outlook, then moved data from one to the other, then did a backup. Not sure if this will meet your needs. Note of caution, larger pst files are more prone to corruption. 2 gigs might be pushing the envelope, and I have tended to keep them below 1 gig.

Good luck

 

[explorerzip]

Can't believe you're still using that boat anchor of a mail client unless it's mandated by your company. AFAIK, Outlook automatically adds to the PST file that you have set as default. You are right that you can have multiple PST files setup in Outlook, but I don't think you can access both files at the same time. You can selective pick what to get backed up within a PST file like only messages over 1 MB, or with attachments, between a date range, etc. So I assume that the contents of the first PST file would make it into the second PST file.

Be careful to manage the size of your PST files because they have a nasty habit of corrupting once they get above 1GB in size. You can reduce the size of a PST file after though.

https://support.office.com/en-us/ar...-and-ost-e4c6a4f1-d39c-47dc-a4fa-abe96dc8c7ef

 

[Keebler Elf]

You can definitely access multiple .pst files at the same time in Outlook (I've done it).

I'm going to experiment and see if once I create a .pst file and then open it in Outlook, if I drag n' drop emails into it will they get kept in the .pst file the next time I load it. That would be perfect.

Regarding the size of .pst files, this was a bigger factor with earlier versions of Outlook (2002 and 2007 specifically) and it's now designed to use bigger .pst files. That said, I agree bloated .pst files are risky (actually, .pst files seem "fragile" to begin with and corruption can occur via a number of different ways).

 

[Celticman]

I'm going to experiment and see if once I create a .pst file and then open it in Outlook, if I drag n' drop emails into it will they get kept in the .pst file the next time I load it. That would be perfect.

Keebler I have done this numerous times. Usually with a whole folder but occasionally with an individual email. BTW, on my work Outlook, I have 7 pst files mapped and always available (open)

 

[explorerzip]

You can definitely access multiple .pst files at the same time in Outlook (I've done it).

I'm going to experiment and see if once I create a .pst file and then open it in Outlook, if I drag n' drop emails into it will they get kept in the .pst file the next time I load it. That would be perfect.

Regarding the size of .pst files, this was a bigger factor with earlier versions of Outlook (2002 and 2007 specifically) and it's now designed to use bigger .pst files. That said, I agree bloated .pst files are risky (actually, .pst files seem "fragile" to begin with and corruption can occur via a number of different ways).

Microsoft products working on a Microsoft O/S are prone to failure. Another thing to keep in mind with very large files is that you might not be able to back them up on a USB flash drive. If you've formatted your USB drive using FAT32, you won't be able to copy a file bigger than 4GB to it. That's a limitation of FAT32. Obviously, you'll have to re-format that USB drive as NTFS that has a much higher file size limit.